June II

So lets see, the second half of June -

Lia's ballet performance at the National Theater (see #4 previous post): Thanks to Veroniki for the company and the help!

backstage 1 (technically the moms weren't supposed to be there - (multiply the number of girls by 40, and the number of moms, grandmas, godmothers and other well-intentioned but highly freaky interested parties by 50, and you get, in a nutshell, pandemonium) but we eluded the steely-eyed door monitors and made a break for the elevator to get upstairs and help with final lipstick adjustments...


backstage 2) note the improved lips!


on stage (there's lots more photos coming - I just decided to leave the snapping to the professionals and enjoy the show.) We think Lia is the second from the left, but who knows? Must wait for the 8x10s to tell for sure. We did shoot some good video - if I can figure out how to get it uploaded I'll post it. The bald guy right in front of us spent the whole night playing video games on his mobile - we never did figure out who his daughter was cause he never really watched the show!


after the show - love the crazy night-vision effect! Nothing like sodium lights to make you look your best!!



It got Hotter

and hotter

and hotter,

so we went to the beach a few times, and got a pool for the balcony (all that's missing are the soft breezes and umbrella drinks ;-)






Finally we retreated to the Peristera (our soon-to-be village) for a break from the city. It's actually quite a nice little village, with a sweet (very old) church and some lovely springs that bring wonderful fresh cool water down from the mountains. This will come in handy if we ever build a house and move out there, as there is currently a bit of a guerilla warfare campaign going on over the water main down the hill from the village. Just so happens to involve our plot of land, and all our neighbors. More on this later...

the Sound of Music

June recap - so here's a brief play-by-play for the first half of June: (Yeah, I know its July and all, but I'm trying!)

1. You know about the land (see previous post) - still ours, still the greatest thing since forever.

2. Helen left for Athens - we threw a fab surprise party for her, excellent food, company and weather (massive lightning storm, no less) - limited edition video and recipes still to come...

3. Lia's end-of-year school performance - check her out as "pouli loco loco" (crazy crazy bird) Note also the emergency make-up job done with oil pastels and lipstick - always handy items to carry in one's purse...

4. Lia's Ballet School Review at the National Theater - pix and video to come.

5. Our big trip to Athens - was originally intended as an anniversary getaway without kids, but turned into a family-free-for-all when the Mark Knopfler concert was moved 2 days later and we lost our babysitting! A great time nonetheless, the photos speak for themselves.

On the train down - the ipod and play area made up for our 6:30 wake-up call.







Perfect weather in the afternoon - not too many tourists and a good walk before dinner.





In our hotel room - a great chance to play trampoline (didn't you always wonder why hotel beds sag in the middle?)



The view from the breakfast room of the Astor Hotel - a great place to stay in the center of the city

On a clear day, Athens is gorgeous


Especially seen from the Acropolis


On the way back to the hotel, we found a beautiful park


then it was off to the show!


During the first song


During the fourth song


(here the videos were intended to wow you, but after 20 minutes of uploading - during which i managed to brush my teeth, get ready for bed, and wait, sweating and swatting mosquitoes - there's nothing but an error message. Humph. Will have to refine my video technique. Oh, well, I'll keep trying. Off to bed - nighty night!